Method and system for communicating vehicle repair information to a business-to-business rental vehicle reservation management computer system

• US 10,366,352 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2007
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Crawford Group Incorporated (Jack Taylor Family Voting Trust U A D 4 14 99)
• Original Assignee: The Crawford Group Incorporated (Jack Taylor Family Voting Trust U A D 4 14 99)
• Inventors: Smith, David Gary, Miller, Owen R., Klopfenstein, Anita K., Dittmar, Russell E., Kelly, Doug, Hastings, Michael Anthony, Pham, Carmela, Bickett, Erick
• Primary Examiner(s): Borissov, Igor N
• Application Number:
  US11/868,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20080162199A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,316 Days
• Field of Search: 705 11, 705 5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events

Abstract

Various aspects of a system and method are disclosed for communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties, wherein a data pump is employed to automate the extraction of vehicle repair data such as labor hours estimation data from a repair facility computer system for delivery to interested parties, including a rental vehicle service provider that provides replacement rental vehicles to drivers whose vehicles are undergoing repairs at repair facilities. A reservation management computer system operated by the rental vehicle service provider can thus use the received vehicle repair data to facilitate management of replacement rental vehicle reservations by its business partners, such as insurance companies.

Claims

1. A system for reducing data entry redundancy and increasing automation with respect to communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties using specially configured data pump technology, the system comprising:

a first computer system associated with a repair facility, wherein the repair facility computer system comprises a body shop management system for managing a plurality of repair orders for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility, the body shop management system comprising a database in which repair order data is stored, wherein the repair order data is stored in the database as relational data having a plurality of fields;

a second computer system, wherein the second computer system comprises a data server; and

a reservation management computer system for communicating with the data server over a computer network, the reservation management computer system configured to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations corresponding to at least a plurality of the vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in response to input from a remote computer;

wherein the repair facility computer system is in communication with the second computer system over a network;

wherein the repair facility computer system is configured to execute a software application; and

wherein the software application comprises a repair order data pump, the repair order data pump configured to (1) run on the repair facility computer system as a background service of the repair facility computer system to automatically connect to the body shop management system on a scheduled basis without human intervention, and (2) in response to a connection with the body shop management system, (i) automatically query the database for new and updated repair order data without human intervention to thereby identify new and updated repair order data relative to a previous retrieval operation by querying the database for (a) all repair orders that have a data field indicative of an open status, and (b) all repair orders that have a data field indicative of a closed status, wherein the closed status was achieved within a predetermined number of previous days, (ii) automatically retrieve the identified new and updated repair order data from the database in response to the query without human intervention, and (iii) automatically send the retrieved repair order data to the second computer system over the network without human intervention to thereby achieve a transmission of vehicle repair data to the second computer system without requiring a user of the repair facility computer system to enter repair order data into an application other than the body shop management system;

wherein the data server is further configured to send vehicle repair data received from the software application and pertaining to a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations managed by the reservation management computer system to the reservation management computer system via the computer network; and

wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to (1) receive the vehicle repair data sent to it from the data server, and (2) perform a plurality of management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations using the vehicle repair data received from the data server, the management operations including a plurality of extensions of a plurality of the replacement rental vehicle reservations based on the new and updated vehicle repair order data retrieved from the database by the repair order data pump.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the data server is further configured to perform a filtering operation on the received vehicle repair data to limit the received vehicle repair data that gets sent to the reservation management computer system.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to perform a matching operation on the vehicle repair data it receives from the data server to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the repair order data pump is further configured to perform a filtering operation on the retrieved data to limit the retrieved data that gets sent to the data server.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the repair order data pump is further configured to automatically send only a plurality of predetermined data fields of the identified new and updated repair order data to the second computer system over the network without human intervention.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the repair facility computer system further comprises an estimating system for managing a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility, the estimating system configured to store a plurality of estimate management standard (EMS) files corresponding to a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in a file directory of the repair facility computer system, the EMS files storing labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, wherein the software application further comprises an EMS data pump, the EMS data pump comprising a configuration file, the EMS data pump configured to (1) run on the repair facility computer system, without human intervention, in at least one of an event mode and a polling mode, and (2) in response to running, (i) automatically identify the file directory where the EMS files are stored without human intervention based on data in the configuration file, (ii) automatically search the identified file directory for new and updated EMS file data, (iii) automatically retrieve the new and updated EMS file data without human intervention in response to the search, and (iv) automatically send the retrieved EMS file data to the second computer system over the network without human intervention to thereby achieve a transmission of vehicle repair data to the second computer system without requiring a user of the repair facility computer system to enter estimate data into an application other than the estimating system.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to interact with the data server and at least one of a plurality of remote computers using web services communications.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the reservation management computer system and the data server are configured to interact with each other via a plurality of web services transactions, the web services transactions comprising a repair order add web services transaction, a rental add web services transaction, a repair delay status change web services transaction, a repair order close web services transaction, and a rental status web services transaction.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the repair facility computer system and the rental management computer system are further configured to execute a web service transaction with respect to each other;

wherein the rental management computer system is further configured to assign a unique identifier to the repair facility in response to the executed web service transaction; and

wherein the repair order data pump is further configured to use the unique identifier in messages sent to the second computer system when automatically sending the retrieved repair order data to the second computer system over the network.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the first computer system, the second computer system, and the reservation management computer system define a distributed computing architecture that enhances how vehicle repair data is processed to support management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations.

11. A system for reducing data entry redundancy and increasing automation with respect to communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties using specially configured data pump technology, the system comprising:

a first computer system associated with a repair facility, wherein the repair facility computer system comprises a body shop management system for managing a plurality of repair orders for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility, the body shop management system comprising a database in which repair order data is stored, wherein the repair order data is stored in the database as relational data having a plurality of fields; and

a second computer system, wherein the second computer system comprises a reservation management computer system, the reservation management computer system configured to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations corresponding to at least a plurality of the vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in response to input from a remote computer;

wherein the repair facility computer system is in communication with the second computer system over a network;

wherein the repair facility computer system is configured to execute a software application; and

wherein the software application comprises a repair order data pump, the repair order data pump configured to (1) run on the repair facility computer system as a background service of the repair facility computer system to automatically connect to the body shop management system on a scheduled basis without human intervention, and (2) in response to a connection with the body shop management system, (i) automatically query the database for new and updated repair order data without human intervention to thereby identify new and updated repair order data relative to a previous retrieval operation by querying the database for (a) all repair orders that have a data field indicative of an open status, and (b) all repair orders that have a data field indicative of a closed status, wherein the closed status was achieved within a predetermined number of previous days, (ii) automatically retrieve the identified new and updated repair order data from the database in response to the query without human intervention, and (iii) automatically send the retrieved repair order data to the second computer system over the network without human intervention to thereby achieve a transmission of vehicle repair data to the second computer system without requiring a user of the repair facility computer system to enter repair order data into an application other than the body shop management system; and

wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to (1) receive the vehicle repair data sent to it from the software application, and (2) perform a plurality of management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations using the vehicle repair data received from the software application, the management operations including a plurality of extensions of a plurality of the replacement rental vehicle reservations based on the new and updated vehicle repair order data retrieved from the database by the repair order data pump.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the repair order data pump is further configured to perform a filtering operation on the retrieved data to limit the retrieved data that gets sent to the reservation management computer system.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to perform a matching operation on the vehicle repair data it receives from the repair facility computer system to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the repair facility computer system and the rental management computer system are further configured to execute a web service transaction with respect to each other;

wherein the rental management computer system is further configured to assign a unique identifier to the repair facility in response to the executed web service transaction; and

wherein the repair order data pump is further configured to use the unique identifier in messages sent to the second computer system when automatically sending the retrieved repair order data to the second computer system over the network.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the first computer system and the second computer system define a distributed computing architecture for processing vehicle repair data in a distributed manner that enhances how vehicle repair data is processed to support management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations.

16. A system for reducing data entry redundancy and increasing automation with respect to communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties using specially configured data pump technology, the system comprising:

a first computer system associated with a repair facility, wherein the repair facility computer system further comprises an estimating system for managing a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility, the estimating system configured to store a plurality of estimate management standard (EMS) files corresponding to a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in a file directory of the repair facility computer system, the EMS files storing labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, wherein each EMS file stored in the file directory that is a valid EMS file comprises a plurality of constituent standardized files; and

wherein the repair facility computer system is in communication with a second computer system over a network;

wherein the repair facility computer system is configured to execute a software application; and

wherein the software application further comprises an EMS data pump, the EMS data pump comprising a configuration file, the EMS data pump configured to (1) run on the repair facility computer system, without human intervention, in at least one of an event mode and a polling mode, and (2) in response to running, (i) automatically identify the file directory where the EMS files are stored without human intervention based on data in the configuration file, (ii) automatically search the identified file directory for new and updated EMS file data relative to a previous retrieval operation, (iii) automatically retrieve the new and updated EMS file data without human intervention in response to the search, and (iv) automatically send the retrieved EMS file data to the second computer system over the network without human intervention to thereby achieve a transmission of vehicle repair data to the second computer system without requiring a user of the repair facility computer system to enter estimate data into an application other than the estimating system; and

wherein the EMS data pump further comprises a validation table and a component, the component being configured to validate whether each retrieved EMS file includes all of its constituent standardized files based on a reference to the validation table.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the configuration file comprises a configurable parameter for identifying a platform of the estimating system used by the repair facility computer system, the configurable parameter identifying where in the file directory that the EMS data pump is to perform the search.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the EMS data pump is configured to run in the event mode, and wherein the EMS data pump comprises a notification application programming interface (API) for detecting when a change occurs in the file directory to thereby trigger the EMS data pump to run.

19. The system of claim 16 wherein the EMS data pump comprises a component configured to (1) maintain a first list of previously retrieved EMS files, the first list including an identification corresponding to when the previously retrieved EMS files were last retrieved, (2) generate a second list of EMS files currently in the file directory, and (3) compare the first list with the second list to identify the new and updated EMS files for retrieval.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein the EMS data pump further comprises a component that is configured to automatically send the retrieved EMS file data to the second computer system as a web service communication.

21. The system of claim 16 further comprising the second computer system and a reservation management computer system, wherein the second computer system comprises a data server, the reservation management computer system for communicating with the data server over a computer network, the reservation management computer system configured to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations corresponding to at least a plurality of the vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in response to input from a remote computer;

wherein the data server is further configured to send vehicle repair data received from the software application and pertaining to a replacement rental vehicle reservation managed by the reservation management computer system to the reservation management computer system via the computer network; and

wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to (1) receive the vehicle repair data sent to it from the data server, and (2) perform a plurality of management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations using the vehicle repair data received from the data server, the management operations including an extension of a replacement rental vehicle reservation based on the vehicle repair data from a validated EMS file retrieved from the file directory by the EMS data pump.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to interact with the data server and at least one of a plurality of remote computers using web services communications.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the reservation management computer system and the data server are configured to interact with each other via a plurality of web services transactions, the web services transactions comprising a repair order add web services transaction, a rental add web services transaction, a repair delay status change web services transaction, a repair order close web services transaction, and a rental status web services transaction.

24. The system of claim 21 wherein the data server is further configured to perform a filtering operation on the received vehicle repair data to limit the received vehicle repair data that gets sent to the reservation management computer system.

25. The system of claim 21 wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to perform a matching operation on the vehicle repair data it receives from the data server to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

26. The system of claim 21 wherein the EMS data pump is further configured to perform a filtering operation on the retrieved data to limit the retrieved data that gets sent to the data server.

27. The system of claim 21 wherein the repair facility computer system and the rental management computer system are further configured to execute a web service transaction with respect to each other;

wherein the rental management computer system is further configured to assign a unique identifier to the repair facility in response to the executed web service transaction; and

wherein the EMS data pump is further configured to use the unique identifier in messages sent to the second computer system when automatically sending the retrieved EMS file data to the second computer system over the network.

28. The method of claim 21 wherein the first computer system, the second computer system, and the reservation management computer system define a distributed computing architecture that enhances how vehicle repair data is processed to support management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations.

29. The system of claim 16 further comprising the second computer system, wherein the second computer system comprises a reservation management computer system, the reservation management computer system configured to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations corresponding to at least a plurality of the vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in response to input from a remote computer;

wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to (1) receive the vehicle repair data sent to it from the software application, and (2) perform a plurality of management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations using the vehicle repair data received from the software application, the management operations including an extension of a replacement rental vehicle reservation based on the vehicle repair data from a validated EMS file retrieved from the file directory by the EMS data pump.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the EMS data pump is further configured to perform a filtering operation on the retrieved data to limit the retrieved data that gets sent to the reservation management computer system.

31. The system of claim 29 wherein the reservation management computer system is further configured to perform a matching operation on the vehicle repair data it receives from the repair facility computer system to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

32. The system of claim 29 wherein the repair facility computer system and the rental management computer system are further configured to execute a web service transaction with respect to each other;

wherein the rental management computer system is further configured to assign a unique identifier to the repair facility in response to the executed web service transaction; and

wherein the EMS data pump is further configured to use the unique identifier in messages sent to the second computer system when automatically sending the retrieved EMS file data to the second computer system over the network.

33. The system of claim 29 wherein the first computer system and the second computer system define a distributed computing architecture for processing vehicle repair data in a distributed manner that enhances how vehicle repair data is processed to support management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations.

34. A computer-implemented method for reducing data entry redundancy and increasing automation with respect to communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties using specially configured data pump technology, the method comprising:

executing a software application on a repair facility computer system, wherein the repair facility computer system comprises a body shop management system for managing a plurality of repair orders for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility, the body shop management system comprising a database in which repair order data is stored, wherein the repair order data is stored in the database as relational data having a plurality of fields, the vehicle repair data comprising labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, and wherein the software application comprises a repair order data pump; and

wherein the software application executing step comprises the repair order data pump (1) running on the repair facility computer system as a background service of the repair facility computer system to automatically connect to the body shop management system on a scheduled basis without human intervention, and (2) in response to connecting with the body shop management system, (i) automatically querying the database for new and updated repair order data without human intervention to thereby identify new and updated repair order data relative to a previous retrieval operation by querying the database for (a) all repair orders that have a data field indicative of an open status, and (b) all repair orders that have a data field indicative of a closed status, wherein the closed status was achieved within a predetermined number of previous days, (ii) automatically retrieving the identified new and updated repair order data from the database in response to the query without human intervention, the retrieved repair order data including labor hours estimation data for at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, and (iii) automatically sending the retrieved repair order data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention to thereby achieve a transmission of vehicle repair data to the second computer system without requiring a user of the repair facility computer system to enter repair order data into an application other than the body shop management system, wherein the second computer system comprises a reservation management computer system, the reservation management computer system configured to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations corresponding to at least a plurality of the vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in response to input from a remote computer, the method further comprising;

the reservation management computer system (1) receiving the vehicle repair data sent to it from the software application, and (2) performing a plurality of management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations using the vehicle repair data received from the software application, the management operations including a plurality of extensions of a plurality of the replacement rental vehicle reservations based on the new and updated vehicle repair order data retrieved from the database by the repair order data pump.

35. The method of claim 34 further comprising:

accessing a server on which the software application is stored;

downloading the software application to the repair facility computer system; and

installing the downloaded software application on the repair facility computer system; and

wherein the executing step comprises the repair facility computer system automatically executing the installed software application without human intervention.

36. The method of claim 35 further comprising:

accessing, with the repair facility computer system, a page of a website maintained by a rental car company, the website being configured to pass the repair facility computer system to the server.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the server is operated by a third party.

38. The method of claim 34 wherein the software application executing step further comprises the repair order data pump automatically sending only a plurality of predetermined data fields of the identified new and updated repair order data to the second computer system over the network without human intervention.

39. The method of claim 34 wherein the repair facility computer system further comprises an estimating system for managing a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility, the estimating system configured to store a plurality of estimate management standard (EMS) files corresponding to a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in a file directory of the repair facility computer system, the EMS files storing the labor hours estimation data, wherein the software application further comprises an EMS data pump, the EMS data pump comprising a configuration file, and wherein the software application executing step further comprises the EMS data pump (1) running on the repair facility computer system, without human intervention, in at least one of an event mode and a polling mode, and (2) in response to running, (i) automatically identifying the file directory where the EMS files are stored without human intervention based on data in the configuration file, (ii) automatically searching the identified file directory for new and updated EMS file data, (iii) automatically retrieving the new and updated EMS file data without human intervention in response to the search, and (iv) automatically sending the retrieved EMS file data to the second computer system over the network without human intervention to thereby achieve a transmission of vehicle repair data to the second computer system without requiring a user of the repair facility computer system to enter estimate data into an application other than the estimating system.

40. The method of claim 34 further comprising performing a filtering operation on the vehicle repair data such that only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the vehicle repair data are received by the reservation management computer system.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the filtering operation is performed by the repair order data pump.

42. The method of claim 34 further comprising the reservation management computer system performing a matching operation on the vehicle repair data it receives from the repair facility computer system to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

43. The method of claim 34 further comprising:

executing a web service transaction with respect to the repair facility computer system and the second computer system;

the second computer system assigning a unique identifier to the repair facility in response to the executed web service transaction; and

the repair order data pump using the unique identifier in messages sent to the second computer system when automatically sending the retrieved repair order data to the second computer system over the network.

44. The method of claim 34 wherein the first computer system and the second computer system define a distributed computing architecture that enhances how vehicle repair data is processed to support management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations.

45. A computer-implemented method for reducing data entry redundancy and increasing automation with respect to communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties using specially configured data pump technology, the method comprising:

executing a software application on a repair facility computer system, wherein the repair facility computer system comprises a body shop management system for managing a plurality of repair orders for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility, the body shop management system comprising a database in which repair order data is stored, wherein the repair order data is stored in the database as relational data having a plurality of fields, the vehicle repair data comprising labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, and wherein the software application comprises a repair order data pump; and

wherein the software application executing step comprises the repair order data pump (1) running on the repair facility computer system as a background service of the repair facility computer system to automatically connect to the body shop management system on a scheduled basis without human intervention, and (2) in response to connecting with the body shop management system, (i) automatically querying the database for new and updated repair order data without human intervention to thereby identify new and updated repair order data relative to a previous retrieval operation by querying the database for (a) all repair orders that have a data field indicative of an open status, and (b) all repair orders that have a data field indicative of a closed status, wherein the closed status was achieved within a predetermined number of previous days, (ii) automatically retrieving the identified new and updated repair order data from the database in response to the query without human intervention, the retrieved repair order data including labor hours estimation data for at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, and (iii) automatically sending the retrieved repair order data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention to thereby achieve a transmission of vehicle repair data to the second computer system without requiring a user of the repair facility computer system to enter repair order data into an application other than the body shop management system, wherein the second computer system comprises a data server, the data server in communication with a reservation management computer system via a computer network, the reservation management computer system configured to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations corresponding to at least a plurality of the vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in response to input from a remote computer, the method further comprising;

the data server sending vehicle repair data received from the software application and pertaining to a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations managed by the reservation management computer system to the reservation management computer system via the computer network; and

the reservation management computer system (1) receiving the vehicle repair data sent to it from the data server, and (2) performing a plurality of management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations using the vehicle repair data received from the data server, the management operations including a plurality of extensions of a plurality of the replacement rental vehicle reservations based on the new and updated vehicle repair order data retrieved from the database by the repair order data pump.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising performing a filtering operation on the vehicle repair data such that only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the vehicle repair data are received by the reservation management computer system.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein the filtering operation is performed by the data server.

48. The method of claim 46 wherein the filtering operation is performed by the repair order data pump.

49. The method of claim 45 further comprising the reservation management computer system performing a matching operation on the vehicle repair data it receives from the data server to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

50. The method of claim 45 further comprising the reservation management computer system interacting with the data server and at least one of a plurality of remote computers using web services communications.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein the interacting step comprises the reservation management computer system and the data server are interacting with each other via a plurality of web services transactions, the web services transactions comprising a repair order add web services transaction, a rental add web services transaction, a repair delay status change web services transaction, a repair order close web services transaction, and a rental status web services transaction.

52. The method of claim 45 further comprising:

executing a web service transaction with respect to the repair facility computer system and the second computer system;

the second computer system assigning a unique identifier to the repair facility in response to the executed web service transaction; and

the repair order data pump using the unique identifier in messages sent to the second computer system when automatically sending the retrieved repair order data to the second computer system over the network.

53. The method of claim 45 wherein the first computer system, the second computer system, and the reservation management computer system define a distributed computing architecture that enhances how vehicle repair data is processed to support management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations.

54. A computer-implemented method for reducing data entry redundancy and increasing automation with respect to communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties using specially configured data pump technology, the method comprising:

executing a software application on a repair facility computer system, wherein the repair facility computer system further comprises an estimating system for managing a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility, the estimating system configured to store a plurality of estimate management standard (EMS) files corresponding to a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in a file directory of the repair facility computer system, the EMS files storing labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, wherein each EMS file stored in the file directory that is a valid EMS file comprises a plurality of constituent standardized files, and wherein the software application further comprises an EMS data pump, the EMS data pump comprising a configuration file; and

wherein the software application executing step further comprises the EMS data pump (1) running on the repair facility computer system, without human intervention, in at least one of an event mode and a polling mode, and (2) in response to running, (i) automatically identifying the file directory where the EMS files are stored without human intervention based on data in the configuration file, (ii) automatically searching the identified file directory for new and updated EMS file data relative to a previous retrieval operation, (iii) automatically retrieving the new and updated EMS file data without human intervention in response to the search, the retrieved EMS file data including labor hours estimation data for at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, and (iv) automatically sending the retrieved EMS file data to a second computer system over a network without human intervention to thereby achieve a transmission of vehicle repair data to the second computer system without requiring a user of the repair facility computer system to enter estimate data into an application other than the estimating system; and

wherein the EMS data pump further comprises a validation table, and wherein the software application executing step comprises a component of the EMS data pump validating whether each retrieved EMS file includes all of its constituent standardized files based on a reference to the validation table.

55. The method of claim 54 further comprising:

defining a configurable parameter in the configuration file for the EMS data pump to thereby identify a platform of the estimating system used by the repair facility computer system, the configurable parameter identifying where in the file directory that the search is to be performed.

56. The method of claim 54 wherein running step comprises the EMS data pump running in the event mode, and wherein the EMS data pump comprises a notification application programming interface (API), the notification API detecting when a change occurs in the file directory to thereby trigger the EMS data pump to run.

57. The method of claim 54 wherein the software application executing step comprises a component of the EMS data pump (1) maintaining a first list of previously retrieved EMS files, the first list including an identification corresponding to when the previously retrieved EMS files were last retrieved, (2) generating a second list of EMS files currently in the file directory, and (3) comparing the first list with the second list to identify the new and updated EMS files for retrieval.

58. The method of claim 54 wherein the software application executing step comprises a component of the EMS data pump automatically sending the retrieved EMS file data to the second computer system as a web service communication.

59. The method of claim 54 wherein the second computer system comprises a data server in communication with a reservation management computer system via a computer network, the reservation management computer system configured to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations corresponding to at least a plurality of the vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in response to input from a remote computer, the method further comprising:

the data server sending vehicle repair data received from the software application and pertaining to a replacement rental vehicle reservation managed by the reservation management computer system to the reservation management computer system via the computer network; and

the reservation management computer system (1) receiving the vehicle repair data sent to it from the data server, and (2) performing a plurality of management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations using the vehicle repair data received from the data server, the management operations including an extension of a replacement rental vehicle reservation based on the vehicle repair data from a validated EMS file retrieved from the file directory by the EMS data pump.

60. The method of claim 59 further comprising the reservation management computer system interacting with the data server and at least one of a plurality of remote computers using web services communications.

61. The method of claim 60 wherein the interacting step comprises the reservation management computer system and the data server are interacting with each other via a plurality of web services transactions, the web services transactions comprising a repair order add web services transaction, a rental add web services transaction, a repair delay status change web services transaction, a repair order close web services transaction, and a rental status web services transaction.

62. The method of claim 59 further comprising performing a filtering operation on the vehicle repair data such that only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the vehicle repair data are received by the reservation management computer system.

63. The method of claim 62 wherein the filtering operation is performed by the data server.

64. The method of claim 62 wherein the filtering operation is performed by the EMS data pump.

65. The method of claim 59 further comprising the reservation management computer system performing a matching operation on the vehicle repair data it receives from the data server to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

66. The method of claim 54 wherein the second computer system comprises a reservation management computer system, the reservation management computer system configured to create and manage a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations corresponding to at least a plurality of the vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in response to input from a remote computer, the method further comprising:

the reservation management computer system (1) receiving the vehicle repair data sent to it from the software application, and (2) performing a plurality of management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations using the vehicle repair data received from the software application, the management operations including an extension of a replacement rental vehicle reservation based on the vehicle repair data from a validated EMS file retrieved from the file directory by the EMS data pump.

67. The method of claim 66 further comprising performing a filtering operation on the vehicle repair data such that only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the vehicle repair data are received by the reservation management computer system.

68. The method of claim 67 wherein the filtering operation is performed by the EMS data pump.

69. The method of claim 66 further comprising the reservation management computer system performing a matching operation on the vehicle repair data it receives from the repair facility computer system to pair the vehicle repair data with any existing replacement rental vehicle reservations.

70. The method of claim 54 further comprising:

accessing a server on which the software application is stored;

downloading the software application to the repair facility computer system; and

installing the downloaded software application on the repair facility computer system; and

wherein the executing step comprises the repair facility computer system automatically executing the installed software application without human intervention.

71. The method of claim 70 further comprising:

accessing, with the repair facility computer system, a page of a website maintained by a rental car company, the website being configured to pass the repair facility computer system to the server.

72. The method of claim 71 wherein the server is operated by a third party.

73. The method of claim 54 further comprising:

executing a web service transaction with respect to the repair facility computer system and the second computer system;

the second computer system assigning a unique identifier to the repair facility in response to the executed web service transaction; and

the EMS data pump using the unique identifier in messages sent to the second computer system when automatically sending the retrieved EMS file data to the second computer system over the network.

74. The method of claim 54 wherein the first computer system and the second computer system define a distributed computing architecture that enhances how vehicle repair data is processed to support management operations on replacement rental vehicle reservations.

75. A computer program product for reducing data entry redundancy and increasing automation with respect to communicating vehicle repair data among a plurality of parties using specially configured data pump technology, the computer program product comprising:

a plurality of instructions that are resident on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the instructions are executable by a processor to automatically locate vehicle repair data that is stored within a computer system of a repair facility without human intervention, wherein the repair facility computer system further comprises an estimating system for managing a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility, the estimating system configured to store a plurality of estimate management standard (EMS) files corresponding to a plurality of vehicle repair estimates for vehicles undergoing repair at the repair facility in a file directory of the repair facility computer system, the EMS files storing labor hours estimation data that comprises an estimate as to how many labor hours are needed to complete repairs to at least one vehicle undergoing repair at the repair facility, wherein each EMS file stored in the file directory that is a valid EMS file comprises a plurality of constituent standardized files, and wherein at least a portion of the plurality of instructions comprise an EMS data pump, the EMS data pump comprising a configuration file, the EMS data pump configured to (1) run on the repair facility computer system, without human intervention, in at least one of an event mode and a polling mode, and (2) in response to running, (i) automatically identify the file directory where the EMS files are stored without human intervention based on data in the configuration file, (ii) automatically search the identified file directory for new and updated EMS file data relative to a previous retrieval operation, (iii) automatically retrieve the new and updated EMS file data without human intervention in response to the search, and (iv) automatically send the retrieved EMS file data to a second computer system over the network without human intervention to thereby achieve a transmission of vehicle repair data to the second computer system without requiring a user of the repair facility computer system to enter estimate data into an application other than the estimating system; and

wherein the EMS data pump further comprises a validation table and a component, the component being configured to validate whether each retrieved EMS file includes all of its constituent standardized files based on a reference to the validation table.

76. The computer program product of claim 75 further comprising a configuration file stored on the computer-readable storage medium, wherein the configuration file defines a configurable parameter for identifying a platform of the estimating system used by the repair facility computer system, the configurable parameter identifying where in the file directory that the search is to be performed.

77. The computer program product of claim 75 wherein the EMS data pump is configured to run in the event mode, and wherein the EMS data pump comprises a notification application programming interface (API) for detecting when a change occurs in the file directory to thereby trigger the EMS data pump to run.

78. The computer program product of claim 75 wherein the EMS data pump comprises a component configured to (1) maintain a first list of previously retrieved EMS files, the first list including an identification corresponding to when the previously retrieved EMS files were last retrieved, (2) generate a second list of EMS files currently in the file directory, and (3) compare the first list with the second list to identify the new and updated EMS files for retrieval.

79. The computer program product of claim 75 wherein the EMS data pump further comprises a component that is configured to automatically send the retrieved EMS file data to the second computer system as a web service communication.

80. The computer program product of claim 75 wherein the plurality of instructions are further executable by a processor to perform a filtering operation on the retrieved vehicle repair data to send only a plurality of pre-selected data fields of the retrieved vehicle repair data to the second computer system.